Hopson named AAMLA Principal of the Year

Tuesday

May 14, 2013 at 8:44 AMMay 14, 2013 at 10:24 AM

According to the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators (AAEA), the annual award is given to an Arkansas middle school level principal who is respected by students, colleagues, parents and the community at-large; shows a strong commitment to his/her professional growth; shows strong educational leadership by setting high expectations for school staff and students; and maintains an orderly, purposeful learning environment.

Sarah Morrissmorris@stuttgartdailyleader.com

Students, staff and family crowded into the Meekins Middle School cafeteria Monday afternoon to surprise and then present Principal Kathy Hopson with the Arkansas Association of Middle Level Administrators (AAMLA) Principal of the Year award.

“I’m not surprised,” sixth-grade literacy teacher Ashlee Hayes, the 2012 Stuttgart Teacher of the Year, said of Hopson’s award. “She is the top of the top. I’m happy that someone else has acknowledged what we already know.”

It was a sentiment shared by students Timquorian Johnson and Sanigha Smith, who were at first unsure why they were called to the cafeteria. Later, the two said they were proud.

“She is a good principal,” Johnson said, with Smith adding, “the best.”

According to the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators (AAEA), the annual award is given to an Arkansas middle school level principal who is respected by students, colleagues, parents and the community at-large; shows a strong commitment to his/her professional growth; shows strong educational leadership by setting high expectations for school staff and students; and maintains an orderly, purposeful learning environment.

“Her focus has always been on being the best you can and she applies that every day she is working,” school counselor James O’Neal said, adding that the two have worked together two different times for a combined 15 years. “A very deserving recipient.”Superintendent Dr. Melvin Bryant said Hopson is “top quality, very deserving and we’re just proud as can be.”

While they were pulling for her the whole time, he said, once they got final word she received the award, the main focus was trying to keep it a secret. Bryant had Hopson meet him to discuss plans for next year with a tour of the school, leading her to be surprised by the school’s 275-student body.

“I’m very shocked, thrilled,” Hopson said later. “I’m very honored.”

A Clarendon native, Hopson and her husband Mark have one daughter, Ashley. Hopson has been the Meekins principal for five years. In total, she taught in both Stuttgart and Clarendon for 12 years before becoming an administrator for 14 years. As an administrator, she was the assistant principal for two years and later shifted to the principal role.

“During my 26 years in education, I have been afforded the opportunity to work with some of the best administrators, teachers, students and parents in the state of Arkansas,” Hopson said.

She is a Master Principal, is involved in numerous professional organizations and active in the community. She told AAEA that her most significant accomplishment as principal “is the relationship I have with my students and staff.”

“I work with the best staff,” Hopson said. “They are willing to do whatever it takes to meet the needs of the students. The Stuttgart School District has allowed me to grow professionally over the years by supporting my participation in the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators. Through this association, I am able to network with school personnel throughout the state of Arkansas.”